The present invention is directed to an improved fiber cable pulling winch attachment for an excavator bucket.
In the art of pulling fiber optic cable from existing pipe conduits, there are devices that are designed to pull cable from pipe conduits.
Devices that are designed to pull cable are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,913,639, issued to George g. Ellis on Jun. 22, 1999, titled Mechanized Cable Puller. The 639 patent describes an attachment that attaches to the lateral sides of a scoop of a backhoe or excavator via one central attachment point that is disposed on a lateral side of scoop.
The present invention is designed to attach to a scoop of an excavator at a position that is positioned outward of the scoop's attachment means that connects to the arm of an excavator. The positioning of the winch attachment of the present invention is the key to this invention, for it allows the winch attachment's bucket mounts to remain on the bucket of the excavator when not using the hydraulic motor or spool attachments of the present invention.
In the prior art, when using the scoop of the excavator, the prior mount attachment means would have to be removed to use the scoop without damaging the mount attachments. The manner of attaching the mounts in the present invention and the ease of connecting the motor and spool attachment is what distinguishes the present invention from the 639 patent.
For the foregoing reason there is a need for an improved fiber cable pulling winch attachment for an excavator bucket that will allow the bucket mounts to remain on the excavator's scoop when not using the hydraulic motor and spool attachments to pull fiber cable from a conduit.